To all or none,,Got a great one for you today.It shows the great difference between the East and the West.

One day Dujon RINPOCHE was driving through France with his wife,admiring the country sideas they went along.They passed a cemetary ,which had been freshly painted and decorated with flowers.Dudjom,s wife said,"Rinpoche look how everything in the West,is so neat and clean.Even where they keep corpses are spotless.In te East not even the houses that people live in are anything like as clean as this.......

Ah Yes,he replied :that'true; They have such marvelous houses for dead corses.But have you not noticed?They have such wonderful houses for the living corpsesToo:

Whenever I think of this story,it makes me think how hollow and futile life can be if founded on false belief in continuity and permanence.When we live like that we become,as Dudjom Rinpoche said,unconscious,living corpses

Dear Lisa ,you being the expert on Tibetan Buddhism, on page 20 of the book,by SRI have read a section 5 times on Samsara,that I cannot even begin to understand.Samsara,I have read about,wrote about,is being simply pushed away with the side of the hand.The article states that Samsara is an invention of modern times,and that we should not loose our time with it.A little furthur away he mentions (GRinpoche)If you have to think about something,Make it the uncertainty of the hour of your death..Loong????

To Lisa,Never mind,I made more research,helping me understand that Samsara exists even in Tibetan Buddhism .My ignorance ,of how Samsara is explained elsewhere,biased my judgement.The data that I had was insufficient to comprehend the text written.Never forget everyone that I am self taught,I never had Masters to explain the meanings of these writings.Lisa helped me a lot.Again she did by not answering my request.Loong

To all or none,Lisa mentionned about dzogchen in Tibetan Buddhism.Out of the 4 main lineage ,1 rejects it.The text I found to explain this part of Buddhism.20 pages long text.Will download it make alittle book out of it,and study it.Lots of stuff to work on ,Bardo,Dzogchen,the book itself.Might be quiet for a while;and oh yes also try to find a meditatiomn teacher to explain it too me.I'll finish by relating an interview I saw with the Dalai-Lama ,when asked how much time he consacrated to meditation he answered 4 hoursper day .2 Walking,2 sitting,and after stating 2 sitting he made a sign like he was not crazy about it,started laughing as he always does.

Taking life seriously does not mean spending our whole lives meditating as if we were living in the mountains in the Himalayasor in the old days in Tibet.In the modern world, we have to work and earn our living,where we live without any view of the deeper meaning of life.Our task is to stike a balance ,to find a middle way,to learn not to overstretch ourselves with extraneous activities and preoccupations,but to simplify our lives more and more. THE KEY TO FINDING A HAPPY BALANCE IN MODERN LIVES IS "SIMPLICITY"Sogyal Rinpoche

Loong, I am getting to re-experience the best passages of this book through you in this thread, it is great! And as you now know, I didn't not respond on purpose but because I was on vacation and couldn't get internet access for a few days:-) But it seems to have worked out for the best, as you have found many answers yourself.

It is interesting that you often say you are not a Mahayana person, but of course you do know that Thich Nhat Hanh is of a Zen lineage, and Zen is also Mahayana. But it is true that many of his teachings and his books especially, with their focus on mindfulness, are so similar to Theravada/Vipassana teachings.

I think that I will start a new thread for us to discuss some of the comments you had about meditation, as that will be easier for others to find. I am going to cut and paste some of what you wrote here to start that.

Dear Lisa,Just lost 1/2 hour trying to log-in.I loved your last post.Remember when I came in on my first stint,coky and knowing all.well on my second stint,you not being Theravada ,i started looking at Mahayana. ,I remember saying they were too dry ,stiff.The Thravadins specially one BhikkHu/translater,that i will not name.You recommend TNH.Read his work[2 books],then other Mahayanasutras.Then I jump in in a book I had heard so much about,being Tibetan liv.....by Sogyal Rinpoche.You were raised Tibetan ,for me atotal new world.Tibetan Buddhism is hard to figure out or understand,when my upbringing was strict ,linear dry.

That is not the description of Tibetan Buddhism.So I have to loosen up use more openmindedness.Within ayear I should have finished this book and maybe undestand abit more about Tibetan Buddhism.I can officially say I am now a Mahayana adept.

Before buying a car when you already have one that you know the workings of,and some friend convinces you to try a newer one ,a simple model,and a complex model with all the gadgets on earth on it.That is what I am living,now.Less stressed,my wanting so much to be a good buddhist.I have slacked the pully a little.Thanks to your no more ism.

Sorry for such a long text ,but that 's what it is.

With friendship and respect

loong

Too bad we cannot put the same post in 2 different threads,this would have been good for what my Buddhism is.!

Switch on television or glance at a newspaper:You will see death everywhere.Yet did the victims of those plane craches and car accidents expect to die ?They took LIFE FOR GRANTED, AS WE DO.How often do we hear stories of peoplewhom we know or even friends,who died unexpectedly?We do not have to be illto die:Our bodies can suddenly break down and go out of order,just like our cars.We can be quitewell one day'then fall sick and die the next.

Miarepa sang:Whe you are strong and healthy You never think of sickniss coming, But it descends with sudden force Like astroke of lightning

When involved in wordly things, You never think of death''s approach,! Quick it comes like thunder Crashing round your head.